You may be eligible for Disability Living Allowance if you have walking difficulties or need help with your personal care. You must have had these needs for three months and expect to need this help or have these difficulties for at least another six months.

DLA can be paid whether you are in work or not. Eligibility does not depend on your medical diagnosis - it is how your condition affects your needs for personal care or mobility.

To get the care component of DLA, your disability must be severe enough for you to either:

- need help with things such as washing, dressing, eating, getting to and using the toilet, or communicating your needs- need supervision to avoid you putting yourself or others in substantial danger (this can apply to mental health conditions)- need someone with you when you are on dialysis- be unable to prepare a cooked main meal for yourself (if you have the ingredients), if you are aged 16 or over

There are three rates of care component depending on how your disability affects you:

Lowest rate

If you need help for some of the day or you are unable to prepare a cooked main meal.

Middle rate

If you need help with personal care frequently or supervision continually throughout the day only, or help with personal care or someone to watch over you during the night only, or someone with you while you are on dialysis.

Highest rate

If you need help or supervision frequently throughout the day and during the night.

You can get Disability Living Allowance for your care needs even if no one is actually giving you the care you need, even if you live alone.

To get the mobility component of DLA, your disability must be severe enough for you to have any of the following walking difficulties, even when wearing or using an aid or equipment you normally use:

- because of a physical disability, you are unable or virtually unable to walk without severe discomfort, or at risk of endangering your life or causing deterioration in your health by making the effort to walk- you have no feet or legs- you are assessed to be both 100 per cent disabled because of loss of eyesight and not less than 80 per cent disabled because of deafness and you need someone with you when you are out of doors- you are severely mentally impaired with severe behavioural problems and qualify for the highest rate of care component- you need guidance or supervision most of the time from another person when walking out of doors in unfamiliar places- you are certified as severely sight impaired by a consultant ophthalmologist, and you were aged between 3 and 64 on 11 April 2011; you must also have a best corrected visual acuity of less than 3/60, or you must have a best corrected visual acuity of 3/60 or more but less than 6/60 together with a complete loss of peripheral visual field and a central visual field of no more than ten degrees in total

There are two rates of the mobility component depending on how your disability affects you:

Lower rate

If you need guidance or supervision out of doors.

Higher rate

If you have any of the other, more severe, walking difficulties.

You may be entitled to only the care component or only the mobility component, or you may be entitled to both.

Your entitlement to DLA and the amount you get is based on the information you told the Disability and Carers Service (DCS). If this information changes, it is your responsibility to tell the DCS. They can then check you're still entitled to the benefit and whether you're getting paid the correct amount.

If you have a progressive disease and are not reasonably expected to live for more than six months, you can get DLA more quickly. You can get the highest rate of the care component whatever your care needs are. And you can get the care component and (if you meet the conditions) the mobility component, without waiting three months.

You can make a claim for someone under the special rules without them knowing or without their permission. If they satisfy the relevant conditions, they will get a letter saying that they have been awarded DLA. Special rules will not be mentioned in the letter.

To claim under these special rules you will need to:

- complete a Disability Living Allowance claim form - get a separate completed form DS1500 from your doctor, specialist or consultant to send with it

Special rules claims are processed much more quickly than other claims.

When applying, don't do as I did and assume that the DM (decision maker) will understand that you have particular needs because of certain conditions. The DM has no medical background and you will need to make it clear how your conditions affects you and what care/mobility needs arise as a result of this.

When I'm filling these in I describe the movement that are needed - to get out of bed: " I sleep slightly raised as I have back pain and frequently cannot sit up without asistance. I pull myself upright and then drop my legs over the edge of the bed, I sit for a minute or until I stop feeling dizzy. I then try to stand up using my hands to keep my balance by holding onto the bedside furniture, sometimes I fall backwards due to dizzy spells or my legs/knee giving way."

its that level of detail & thats only for once action so it takes a while to do the form.

This is how the criteria is shown in the Disability Rights HandBookTo qualify for DLA care component your care needs must ultimately stem from disability; both physical and mental disability may help you qualify. You must be so severely disabled physically or mentally that you requireDuring the day.No 1. “Frequent attention throughout the day in connection with your bodily functions” orNo 2. “Continual supervision throughout the day in order to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others”.

At NightNo 3. “prolonged or repeated attention in connection with your bodily functions” orNo 4. “in order to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others you require another person to be awake for a prolonged period or at frequent intervals for the purpose of watching over you “ or

Part-time day careNo 5 “you require in connection with your bodily functions attention from another person for a significant portion of the day (whether during a single period or a number of periods)” or

Cooking testNo 6”you cannot prepare a cooked main meal for yourself if you have the ingredients”.

To get High rate care you need to satisfy Either No 1 or No 2 daytime tests andEither No 3 or No 4 night time tests

To get Middle rate careEither No 1 or No 2 daytime tests orEither No 3 or No 4 night time tests

To get Low rate careEither No 5 or No 6 part time day care

Mobility ComponentTo get High Rate MobilityNo 1. you are unable to walk orNo 2. you are virtually unable to walk orNo 3. the exertion required to walk would constitute a danger to your life or would be likely to lead to a serious deterioration in your health orNo 4. you have no legs or feet (from birth or through amputation)No 5. you are both deaf and blind orNo 6 you are entitled to highest rate care component and are severely mentally impaired with extremely disruptive and dangerous behavioural problems.

Low rate MobilityYou must be aged 5 or over and “so severely disabled physically or mentally that, disregarding any ability you may have to use routes which are familiar to you on your own, you cannot take advantage of the faculty out of doors without guidance or supervision from another person for most of the time.”